Treaty of Tolentino

Treaty of Tolentino

Signing of the treaty
Signed	19 February 1797
Location	Tolentino, Papal States
Parties	French Republic  Papal States

The Treaty of Tolentino was a peace treaty between Revolutionary France and the Papal States, signed on 19 February 1797 and imposing terms of surrender on the Papal side. The signatories for France were the French Directory's Ambassador to the Holy See, François Cacault, and the rising General Napoleon Bonaparte and opposite them four representatives of Pope Pius VI's curia.

It was part of the events following the Italian campaign of 1796-1797, during the War of the First Coalition. Having defeated the Austrians at the Battle of Mantua, at the Battle of Arcole and in the Battle of Rivoli, Bonaparte had no more enemies in northern Italy and was able to devote himself to the Papal States. Following nine months of negotiations between France and the Papal States, in February 1797 9,000 French soldiers invaded the Papal Romagna region, leaving the Pope no choice but to accept the French terms.